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1,804 encounters
Spring 1980 McCord AFB, Pierce County, Washington Class B #1593

Sounds heard like growling

As an eight-year-old, the witness became separated from friends while playing in the woods and walked alone down a trail. The witness smelled an indescribable odor and heard growling from thick bushes to the left, then heard a surrounding scream and ran out of the woods without looking back. Years later the witness felt the earlier growl matched a supposed Bigfoot vocalization heard in a TV documentary, but remained unsure what was encountered.

GrowlScreamOdor
1980–1989 Duvall, King County, Washington Class B #8730

Family hears a howl while camping in the front yard

The witness reports camping with family in the front yard late at night when they heard prolonged loud moaning from up the hill. The unfamiliar sound was frightening and the group eventually went indoors to sleep. Years later the witness felt the sound matched a Bigfoot vocalization heard on television.

Vocalization
October 1979 Grand Rapids (largest), Kent County, Michigan Class B #35671

Bow hunter remembers possible intimidation behavior near Grand Rapids

The witness was bow-hunting deer alone from a makeshift blind at a clearing near a power-line cut. From inside the woods he heard loud branch and log breaking sounds together with strange slurred chatter-like vocalizations lasting a few minutes, then silence. He walked toward the area with bow drawn but could not penetrate the dense brush, and companions hunting elsewhere reported nothing unusual. Decades later he felt the vocalizations matched published Samurai chatter recordings.

ChatterTree break
October 1979 BLACK ROCK, Tulare County, California Class B #12328

Hunters are awakened by loud, repetitive vocalizations in Monache Meadows

The witness and a companion were camped overnight during a hunting trip when they were awakened around 2 a.m. by very loud howling from a meadow. The sound was described as sad but not threatening and continued intermittently for about an hour while they searched with a spotlight from a vehicle without seeing anything. They then returned to camp.

Howl
September 1979 Dunkirk, Blackford County, Indiana Class B #2458

Two brothers hear strange screams while target shooting. Unusual scratchings on a tree discovered the following day

The witness and a relative had been target shooting and had returned to town when they heard an extremely loud scream from the woods they had just left, carrying across a large field. The witness released a dog to investigate, but the dog ran inside the house and refused to go back outside. The next morning the two returned to the area and found several trees with scratch marks about six feet above the ground.

Scream
September 1979 Weed, Siskiyou County, California Class B #5220

Son and step Father have a strange encounter on the north/east side of Mt.Shasta

The witness and a relative were camping in a remote wooded area when the witness was awakened around 3 a.m. by noises around the truck, including an ice chest being knocked over and a violent impact that rocked the vehicle, followed by a loud piercing scream-like sound. The relative also woke, and in the morning they found the camp in disarray with a dozen eggs missing, the empty carton later found away from camp, and a dent in the truck. No creature was seen and no tracks were found, and the pair stayed up until morning before leaving.

ScreamVehicle contactProperty disturbance
15 July 1979 IIwaco, Pacific County, Washington Class B #26440

Hitchhiker hears loud vocalization just outside Ilwaco

Two people walking at night along a highway with heavy packs heard an extremely loud, unfamiliar growl from nearby marshland. They reported intense fear with physical reactions and freezing briefly before running a long distance down the road. No visual contact with the source was reported.

Growl
July 1979 Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts Class B #8972

Possible vocalizations heard by residents in the "Bridgewater Triangle"

In July 1979 the witness reports hearing very loud howling and screaming approaching through dense woods behind the house on three consecutive nights. Each episode involved repeated 20-30 second vocalizations with loud crashing through brush, while other night sounds stopped. On the third night the witness turned on roof floodlights when the source was behind the house; the sound stopped briefly then crashed away quickly in the opposite direction. The witness did not see the source and reports hearing nothing similar after 1979.

HowlScreamFootsteps
July 1979 Harrison County, Ohio Class B #30548

Two fisherman hear commotion of a roaring animal on brushy bank of Clendening Lake

The witness was fishing from a boat near shore while a companion napped on board. The witness heard footsteps in water, loud roars, splashing, and an animal squealing but saw nothing because shoreline vegetation was very dense. Frightened, the witness moved away quietly and woke the companion, who heard part of the sounds as they left. At the marina a worker said a news crew had previously covered a Bigfoot report at the lake, which led the witness to consider that explanation.

FootstepsGrowlUnidentified soundMovement only
July 1979 Lake Shasta, Shasta County, California Class B #2770

Couple Has Frightening Encounter Near Lake Shasta

A couple drove to a remote meadow near Squaw Creek and camped overnight. After the campfire burned low at night they heard loud breaking branches, rushing movement circling and approaching the camp, and a loud howl-like vocalization, while their dog growled and a strong foul odor was present. They kept the fire large, shone flashlights into the woods without seeing eyeshine, and left at daylight, later associating the incident with Bigfoot after a friend's comment.

HowlFootstepsMovement onlyOdor
Summer 1979 Montague, Muskegon County, Michigan Class B #31302

Avid hiker recalls years of experience living in an area with what local people called the "Shadow People" near Montague

The witness describes repeated activity over years living near woods in White River Township. The witness reports seeing part of a tall hair-covered figure peeking from brush, finding deer carcasses cached high in trees, stacked bone piles and dugout shelters, hearing breathing and strange calls, smelling musk, feeling watched, and being chased at night by a bipedal creature that halted near the road.

Partial sightingVocalizationUnidentified soundFootstepsOdor +4
1979 Koran, Webster Parish, Louisiana Class B #1516

Unknown animal with loud scream visits lake front home, frightens dog; something heavy is heard walking in the water

The witness and their mother were inside their lakefront home near dusk when outdoor sounds went silent and their tethered dog howled and rushed inside to hide. Both then heard a loud non-human scream described as between a woman and a cougar, followed by loud splashing as something large moved through the water along the lake. After about five minutes normal swamp sounds resumed, suggesting whatever made the sounds continued down the lake.

ScreamMovement only
1979–1982 Fort Defiance, Apache County, Arizona Class B #846

During his youth, this First Generation American heard several unusual sounds, on two different occasions

In mid-winter 1979, the witness and about five other children were playing outside in snow around midnight during a heavy snowfall on the Navajo reservation in northeastern Arizona. From the darkness they heard a loud terrible screaming mixed with roaring that continued on and off for about 15 minutes. No creature was seen. The witness later concluded the sound must have been a Bigfoot, noting it matched published recordings and local stories of sheep thefts.

Scream
Summer 1979 Tillamook County, Oregon Class B #691

Crashing and snapping sounds heard by campers

Just after sunrise while camping beside a river, the witness and a companion heard breaking and crashing sounds moving through dense forest toward their tent. Heavy, slow footsteps approached to within a few feet behind the tent, paused, then moved away. The witness briefly followed on foot but saw nothing in the dense woods, and later found several small trees snapped or pushed over beyond a tangle of large fallen logs.

FootstepsTree breakUnidentified sound
16 December 1978 Avery, Calaveras County, California Class B #5477

Teenager has a nighttime close encounter and then sees tracks in the snow in Avery

The witness spent a winter night sleeping on a couch in an unfinished hillside cabin while two dogs slept nearby. During the night a large-sounding movement was heard outside that agitated the dogs for about fifteen minutes, but the witness did not look outside. The next morning the witness found a line of large five-toed footprints in snow that appeared to pass the cabin, step over a barbed-wire fence, and jump a creek before continuing uphill, but heavy snow later covered them.

FootstepsTracks
December 1978 5 Miles N Of Greenfields, Dade County, Missouri Class B #48156

Duck hunter recalls hearing possible vocalizations from three individuals on Stockton Lake

While duck hunting from a canoe on a lake in the early morning, the witness heard very loud sustained calls from three different directions at varying distances. The calls were repeated in turn several times and were described as indicating very large lung capacity. The witness later became convinced the sounds matched published descriptions of Bigfoot calls.

Scream
November 1978 Boston, Nelson County, Kentucky Class B #23730

Bowhunters get unexpected response near Boston

Three bowhunting companions were camped overnight in an abandoned barn. After the witness made rabbit-distress calls with cellophane, a distant low moan grew into a loud mournful roar twice, followed by total silence from dogs and insects. The men remained silent in their sleeping bags until morning and then packed up and left without hunting.

VocalizationHowl
28 October 1978 Texarkana, Bowie County, Texas Class B #1631

Several incidents in the woods near the Sulphur River south of Texarkana

The witness and a companion went squirrel hunting in a wooded area early on a Saturday morning. After firing into a squirrel nest, they heard an extremely loud roar twice that seemed to shake the woods. They saw nothing, ran out of the woods past agitated cows at a nearby farm, and did not stop until reaching the witness's house.

Vocalization
6 October 1978 Ashland Wisconson, Ashland County, Wisconsin Class B #19917

Man recounts his possible encounter during bowhunting season while attending college

While bowhunting from a tree stand, the witness heard loud high-pitched shrieking and saw brush shaking as an unseen animal moved through thick briars. A hunting companion positioned below reportedly saw the animal on two legs and described it as apelike. Both left the area out of fear and did not return.

ScreamPartial sightingMovement only
October 1978 Hyrum, Cache County, Utah Class B #20254

Possible interacting vocalizations heard by hunter near Hyrum

The witness was hunting alone on a plateau ridge, using hand-made calls to attract elk and coyotes. Something vocalized in the distance and exchanged calls for about half an hour, with what sounded like three individuals approaching to about 30 yards below in cover but never emerging. Feeling uneasy and unsure what they were, the witness ran about a mile back toward the truck and later described the sounds as a mix of chimpanzee, loon and coyote.

Vocalization